Student Services

Welcome

The primary mission of Student Services is to support students and their families in the areas of enrollment, attendance, health, discipline, Section 504 Plans and student records/privacy rights. Our staff understands and uses federal, state and AUSD Board of Education policies to maximize the effectiveness of educational programs throughout the district.

Student Services processes all enrollment including out of attendance zone transfers, sets up truancy hearings, coordinates student health services for students on 504 plans, screens students for vision and hearing problems and processes student expulsions. All foreign students wishing to attend AUSD schools must apply for an F-1 student visa at Student Services. Requests for student records must be made in person with a valid photo ID. We are located at 2060 Challenger Drive, Alameda, CA 94501.

We are committed to providing the support needed to ensure every student succeeds. Take a moment to learn more on how you can help your child navigate the school process:

Student and Staff Safety

All AUSD schools have uniform emergency procedures for intruder on campus, unsafe situation in the surrounding community, chemical spill, or environmental and natural disasters. All procedures were created in collaboration with local law enforcement and are based upon nationwide best practices. Please see below for more information about emergency procedures and disaster preparedness.

Please see our Parent Resources page for information on how families can prepare for earthquakes and other emergencies.

Attendance

Students between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age are required to be enrolled in school. Parents/guardians are responsible to report their child’s absence to the school’s office when ever their child is not in school by:

• telephoning the school attendance office to report the child’s absence,
• sending a note from the parent/guardian with the student regarding the child’s absence
• emailing the attendance office regarding the child’s absence.

If a parent/guardian does not report the child’s absence to the school, the absence will be recorded in the computer as an unexcused absence.

Three unexcused absences or tardies of 30 minutes or more, in any combination, result in a truancy letter being mailed home. The CA Department of Education is automatically notified that the student is truant. Four truancy letters result in a student being identified as a habitual truant.

Habitually truant students may be asked to attend a School Attendance Review Board (SARB)* meeting. The SARB panel meets monthly with parents/guardians and students who have received truancy letters to discuss their absences. Most students/families are put on SARB contracts and attendance is closely monitored. If the student’s attendance does not improve, the student may be referred to the District Attorney. The student and or parent/guardian will then meet with a judge, and may be fined, lose their driver’s license or future driving privileges, and in some cases be imprisoned.

Discipline

Discipline/Suspension/Expulsion
Alameda Unified School District believes that all students, staff, parents/guardians and volunteers have the right to a safe, secure school, free of weapons, violence and unlawful or disruptive behavior. This policy is essential to maintaining an educational environment that promotes learning and protects the health, safety, and welfare of all students.

Students who disrupt the learning process, pose a danger to the safety of others or violate any portion of Education Code 48900 are subject to school discipline, suspension or expulsion. Information regarding the policies and procedures for suspension and expulsion, as well as student and parent rights to due process, can be found in the Parent/Student Handbook for each school.

Suspension Appeals
A parent/guardian who disagrees with a suspension must meet with the Principal to request a reconsideration of the suspension or request that the suspension be amended or reversed. If after such meeting, the parent/guardian still disagrees with the suspension, they may submit an appeal in writing to the Director of Student Services who will review the written appeal, make every effort to contact and discuss the request with the parent/guardian, and provide the final decision in writing to the parent/guardian and to the school.

Progressive Discipline Chart
AUSD district office staff and school site administrators collaborated throughout the 2010-2011 academic year to define standards of disciplinary practice for use across the district at elementary and secondary school levels. Our shared goal is to work together to achieve equal and fair disciplinary treatment for all AUSD students.

To help AUSD promote equity and fairness in student discipline, provided here are a Uniform Discipline Chart, a Secondary Discipline Chart and an informational brochure for parents, students and staff.

The primary goal of student discipline is to help ensure each student develops to his/her maximum capacity, and AUSD aims toward achieving that goal through this work toward standardizing equal and fair treatment for all.

Section 504 Plans

A student with a disability under Section 504 is one who has a physical or mental impairment (i.e. Diabetes, asthma, bipolar disorder, etc.) that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include, but are not limited to caring for ones self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working. A parent/guardian who believes that their student may have a disability under Section 504 must contact the Principal of the school to arrange for a Student Study Team meeting to evaluate the student’s need for a 504 accommodation plan. The Principal, regular education teaching staff and other staff designated on the 504 Team are responsible for implementing, reviewing and modifying the 504 Plan.

Student Records/Privacy Rights

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides that a parent/guardian has the right to inspect and review the educational records of their child, seek to amend educational records, and consent to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from educational records except as specified by law. The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) states that general notification must be made to parents/guardians of surveys that contain questions in one or more of the eight protected areas listed below. Furthermore, schools must obtain prior written consent from parents/guardians before these surveys are administered.

political affiliation or beliefs of the student or student’s parents

mental or psychological problems of the student or the student’s family

sex behavior or attitudes

illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior

critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships

legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers

religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student’s parent

income (other than required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).

Parents also have the right to review, upon request, any survey that concerns one or more of the eight protected areas, any instructional materials used in connection with any survey that concerns one or more of the protected areas, and any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum for the student.

Student Work Permits

Student Work Permits - Instructions: Print the permit, take to your prospective employer and have them fill out the "employer" section. Bring completed form into your school office for approval.

Complaint Procedures

Uniform Complaint Procedures

The district follows uniform complaint procedures when addressing complaints alleging unlawful discrimination against any protected group as identified under Education Code 200, 220 and Government Code 11135 based on age, actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, gender, ethnic group identification, race, ancestry, national origin, religion, color, or mental or physical disability in any program or activity that receives or benefits from state financial assistance. Uniform complaint procedures are also used when addressing complaints alleging failure to comply with state and/or federal laws in adult education, consolidated categorical aid programs, migrant education, career/technical instruction education and technical programs, childcare and development programs, child nutrition programs, special education programs, and federal school safety planning requirements.Click here for more information on how to file a complaint.

Student Services Contacts

Phone: (510) 337-7072
FAX: (510) 337-7071

Claudia MedinaCoordinator of Family Involvement and Community Engagement
(510) 337-7190

The Alameda Unified School District prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on actual or perceived ancestry, age color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, parental, family or marital status, or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For more information, please go to http://tinyurl.com/AUSD-NonDiscr-Policy.